Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) (also known as corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) or corticoliberin; is a 41-amino acid peptide derived from a 196-amino acid preprohormone. Corticotropin may also be spelled corticotrophin) is a peptide hormone involved in the stress response. It is a releasing hormone that belongs to corticotropin-releasing factor family. In humans, it is encoded by the CRH gene. Its main function is the stimulation of the pituitary synthesis of ACTH, as part of the HPA Axis. Increased CRH production has been observed to be associated with Alzheimer's disease and major depression, and autosomal recessive hypothalamic corticotropin deficiency has multiple and potentially fatal metabolic consequences including hypoglycemia.  >> Read More

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Corticotropin-releasing factor or hormone (CRF, CRH) is part of a family of related peptides including the urotensins-I (UI), sauvagine and urocortin in vertebrates, and the diuretic peptides present in insects. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), urotensin-I, urocortin and sauvagine belong to a family of related neuropeptides found throughout chordate taxa and likely stem from an ancestral peptide precursor early in metazoan ancestry. In vertebrates, current evidence suggests that CRF on one hand, and urotensin-I, urocortin and sauvagine, on the other, form paralogous lineages. Urocortin and sauvagine appear to represent tetrapod orthologues of fish urotensin-I. Sauvagine's unique structure may reflect the distinctly derived evolutionary history of the anura and the amphibia in general.

Evolution and Physiology of the Corticotropin-Releasing Factor (CRF) Family of Neuropeptides in Vertebrates

In Alzheimer's disease, unaltered numbers of CRH neurons are stimulated to produce more mRNA of CRH and may, therefore, show greater CRH turnover, whereas in depression, more neurons are recruited to produce CRH and vasopressin. Increased vasopressin production in CRH neurons increases the power of the HPA system, since vasopressin strongly potentiates the ACTH-releasing activity of CRH.

Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone mRNA Levels in the Paraventricular Nucleus of Patients With Alzheimer's Disease and Depression